The Good Old Days
by Meggido
Summary: Before the Doctor, before the adventures through space and time, there was the Academy. The Deca, Gallifrey and its political mess, the everyday life... Before the war and the sadness, before everything, there were the good old days. (Rated M for safety) (Main pairing : The Doctor x The Master)
1. Chapter 1 - Worth the wait

_Leave him alone !_

_The cry was useless and he knew it. Torvic enjoyed the game and he would not stop, never, not until someone stopped him. He enjoyed the power he had over the two boys. But that was coming to an end. For the one who would one day become the Doctor, the boy who would hate weapons and violence, could not stand to see his friend hurt over and over again. He did not know yet that his actions would have certain consequences, he just knew that the blood dripping from Koschei's wound was too much to handle and that the heavy stone in his hand could make it stop._

Detention was supposed to be a place of study – but what was there to study, really ? All of this was dull. Learning things and repeating them, always the same process... that was boring. Instead, not caring the slightest about his lectures, Theta Sigma drew. He did not really pay attention to what he was drawing, that did not matter, it merely served the purpose of keeping him busy. After all, he knew he had to sit here for at least three hours, it was better if he did something with this time.

He was alone in the room, which was usual. The Academy students were quieter than he was and no one jumped into trouble like he did. This time, he stuck a teacher into a time loop for a day. As a consequence, he had to be in detention for, well, the exact amount of time the professor spent in the loop. Three weeks. That was his record.

But for once, another student was brought in by a visibly crossed teacher. Apparently, the guy would have insulted his professor, stating that he was wrong, and that did not please the teacher too much. Tss. Detention for such a small thing. Theta did not even bother to look at the other boy, they obviously did not play in the same league.

Until the man watching the detention room called the other by his family name. _Oakdown. _

That could not be. There were other Oakdowns around, after all. Besides, after all these years trying to avoid Koschei, finding himself locked in a detention room with him would really be absurd – yet he could not help but recognize him. Theta had been watching over him from afar, hoping he would eventually forget Torvic's death. Years after years, they grew apart and he was not even sure his childhood friend would recognize him.

Oh, how proud he looked, how defiant. And, well, handsome. Theta smiled for himself and buried in his drawing, hoping to go unnoticed. After all, the last thing he wanted was to be remembered he was a murderer.

_His head smashed, Torvic was lying on the ground. He was too young to know how to regenerate but still, it would be wiser to burn him, if only to erase any evidence. Koschei and his friend shared a long glance, knowing that this would be a turn in their friendship. Something that could never be repaired. But little did they know how right they were, for Death would claim its toll many years after. _

_After this incident, they did not talk. They both did their best to erase any trace of the crime and went back to their respective estates, trying hard to forget what happened. Maybe Koschei did not understand why his friend did such a thing – such a harsh thing. He never saw this boy who cried because the birds were leaving as a murderer, and yet the evidence lied there. He killed Torvic, he killed him without even blinking. That was frightening. To what extent could he go to defend those he loved ? _

Koschei completely ignored him. They both had changed and if Theta recognized his old friend, he was not too surprised to be unnoticed by him. The first hour went in complete silence and Theta's drawings grew more and more violent, more and more depressing. At the end of the hour, he knew he could not stand it. Not that. Not being seated just a rank behind his old friend, without talking to him, without... no. He missed him too much. And if avoiding him for years had the expected effect of making the pain of his loss lighter, this situation was awful. He needed to hear Koschei's voice. He needed it so bad.

Taking advantage of their watcher's inattention, he slipped from his chair to the one next to Koschei. The other gave him a look full of despise and haughtiness, which made Theta laugh, only to be ordered to shut up by the watcher.

- I heard them say you insulted a teacher, he whispered, taking another piece of paper and a pen to resume his drawing.

- This is hardly your business, replied Koschei, rather harshly, his mind focused on some dull exercise.

- Teachers don't like it when you don't agree with them. It's better to either pretend you do and strike from behind or... well, stand your ground and spend your life in detention.

- I am not a cheater, nor am I a rebel. This was merely a mistake and I'm never doing it again.

Theta smiled for himself. Under his pen started to appear the image of Koschei as a child, as he remembered him. He didn't even do that on purpose – that was the first thing that came to his mind. Memories of a time long gone.

- I'm sorry if I insulted you. That was not the purpose, he smiled, absorbed in his drawing.

Something in the tone of his voice, maybe, or in the mere feeling of his presence, caught Koschei's attention and he looked up from his work to stare at the boy next to him. His smile was familiar, somehow – and comforting. He wanted to ask him if they knew each other when he saw the drawing. Himself, but younger. There weren't many people that knew him before the Academy.

His pen still on the paper tracing lines and shadows, Theta smiled.

- Hi, Kos.

- What... what are you doing here ?

- I may have stuck a teacher in a time loop for a day. He may not have appreciated it. (He shrugged) Those people don't know what fun means.

Theta glanced sideways at Koschei, amused by his shocked expression. Clever and serious Koschei. From time to time, he wished it could be like him, but that would have been so boring.

_He asked not to be in the same dorm as Koschei. He did his best to avoid him. He remembered too well the pain in his friend's eyes when they looked at each other, that dreadful day, and he could not live with it. At least, Torvic could not harm anyone again. If that meant losing the best friend he ever had, he was fine with it, for he'd rather have his safety than his friendship. Besides, a murderer like him... he didn't deserve anyone's friendship. But he knew he would learn to get through that, to smile again without thinking of the blood on his hands. Without thinking that years ago, Koschei and him had to burn a corpse, and they were not even eight years old._

- I haven't seen you in ages, muttered Koschei. Were you gone or something ?

- Not really. Just busy.

- Busy doing what ?

- Stuff.

- What kind of stuff ?

Theta stared at his old friend, wondering what he should answer. A not nice kind of stuff. Being angry at teacher, mostly. He remembered that time he was bashed on his essay about the chromosomal origin of love by his teacher – but that was irrelevant. That was one of his last attempts to be serious. After that, he simply stopped caring. Why would he think about that right now ?

- Getting put in detention, mostly, he replied with a grin. That's one hell of an occupation.

Koschei stared at him, unimpressed and probably quite certain that Theta was lying. That didn't matter to Theta. Simply hearing his friend's voice was enough. He never realised how much he had missed him and how much he wished they could go back to what they were, the best friends in the universe. He even missed their fights.

But he said nothing of that and simply smiled when the watcher came to tell Koschei his detention was over. One hour and a quarter. Theta couldn't help but think that if he had had more guts, he could have spent all that time talking to his friend, instead of brooding alone – but a few minutes were better than nothing.

He sighed and looked at his drawing. Somehow, his own face had appeared along Koschei's, and he drew them holding hands and smiling – a sight that almost brought tears to his eyes.

- Hey, Kos ! He called before the boy could get out. There's a party tonight. You should come.

But the other shrugged and dismissed the idea. Of course, he was not too fond of parties.

The saddest smile appeared on Theta's face and he erased his face on the drawing. Yes. He should have known he wasn't worth the wait.


	2. Chapter 2 - Rumor has it

They did not talk anymore after this detention day. Koschei seemed to forget Theta's existence and Theta did his best to do the same. After all, if Kos did not want to hear from him... Anyway. He went back to his usual life, messing with teachers, having fun, drinking a bit too much, fooling around with a bunch of boys and girls. A lot of parties, very little studying. It was easy with no friends to tell him to stop.

But then there was this rumor spreading around the Academy. There was a kind of gala to help the members of the promotion to know each other and, well, the evening was interesting for Koschei. It was said that he and Ushas got together that night. Ushas, of all people. Since then, they did not make it official but everyone knew what was going on – everyone, including Theta. Of course, galas were not his kind of thing and he did not bother to attend but when he learnt about what happened... he regreted.

He did not really know why these news made him so sad and angry at the same time, why he could not even hear their names without cringing anymore. Koschei and Ushas. The phrase was somehow dreadful and he could not figure out why. Obviously, he was worried for his friend, for he knew Ushas was the kind of woman to play with her lovers as if they were toys, but Kos was wise enough not to be fooled. At least he hoped so.

_She ain't real._

_She ain't gonna be able to love you like I will._

_She is a stranger, you and I have history or don't you remember ?_

He tried not to think of it. To ignore them, despite the fact they were the new attraction at the Academy. Two popular kids, brilliant, beautiful, wealthy... The story was obvious. And he looked at it from afar, wondering why this hurt so much. He never managed to catch Koschei's eyes, not once he was too fascinated by Ushas. Theta could not imagine Kos was in love, not with her – he deserved so much better. He deserved someone who would not manipulate him, not use him, someone who would never make him cry. Someone that would never prefer anything over him. And Ushas loved her own intelligence more than she would ever love anything else.

Theta could not help but watch them. At first, he stayed away, trying to avoid the pain of seeing them together, but he could not keep from worrying – so he decided to watch over his friend, once again. He drank more than usual to forget, he completely stopped going to class, not caring the slightest about the possibility of being expelled. He never cared about this damn Academy. What he had to learn, he wanted to learn it outside, like Braxiatel. Braxiatel had the right to leave. Why couldn't he ? And even if he couldn't – he would. Rules were meant to be broken.

_Sure, she's got it all... but baby is that really what you want ?_

It finally became too much. Teachers threatened to report him and expell him, no one would defend him, not even those who saw some good in him. He saw Ushas laughing when someone told her about his situation, then stare at him, a luscious smile on her red lips. He didn't like the way she was looking at him but... that had a charm. He never got close to her. Whenever they would talk, that would end up in a fight and he always despised her. She was too material, too pragmatic for him. It was not a surprise that she would enjoy seeing him break apart.

In the meantime, she became more and more dominant and possessive over Koschei. She asserted her power slowly enough for him not to notice but a few months after the gala, he looked tarnished and smile had deserted his face for good. Theta could not handle it. He _couldn't_. He wrote a message to Ushas, inviting her on the top of the Mountain of Solace, where no one would disturb them – they weren't supposed to go there but he knew she would come. And as he expected, she did.

_Bless your soul, you got your heads in the cloud,_

_You made a fool out of you and now she's bringing you down_

_She made your heart melt, but now you're cold to the core... _

- I am guessing you want to talk about Koschei, she said, smirking and radiant. You should know that he was the one asking for me.

- I don't believe you.

- Oh, alright. Alright, I might have forced myself upon him a little bit. But he didn't complain. In fact, I think he's pretty good with me.

He stared at her, not believing a single word she said. She manipulated him. She used him. But why ? She would never have bothered dating anyone if there was no purpose behind it. And he feared what that purpose might be.

- What do you want from him, Ushas ?

- A few minutes in heaven ? She smirked, playing with her hair. Not that he is able to give much more. But well, he's nice, and that's good for my reputation. What, can't I like anyone ?

- No. You're not the kind to _like _people. You use them and then you toss them. You are going to make him suffer.

He didn't comment about her innuendos, though something in him wanted to start yelling at her for implying that kind of things. He didn't want to know a thing about their sex life, whether it was good or bad. As long as he could pretend it didn't happen...

- Cute, she laughed. You're worried for him. It's true, yeah. You used to be friends.

- We _are _friends.

- That's not how he sees things. You are a pain in his neck. I don't know why but he wishes you'd be gone. He wishes you'd simply disappear. Can't tell you how glad he is you're about to be expelled.

- _Stop lying to my face !_

This time, he shouted. Why did this hurt so much ? Why did this feel like his heart was about to break in two and leave him empty ? Koschei was his friend. He always had been. That they spent some time apart didn't mean their friendship was broken, because such a link couldn't just disappear into thin air as she was pretending. What did she want ? What was the purpose of this torture ? Just like a cat torturing a mouse, she was delighted by his reactions and that was so obvious he felt the urge to punch her in the face. Would he have found a stone... just like the one he used to kill Torvic...

This simple thought cooled him down instantly. He looked at her in disdain and enjoyed the fact she suddenly seemed less confident.

- You have a purpose here, Ushas. What is it ?

- Only the very bad villains tell their plans. The good ones keep them for themselves.

Her insufferable smirk made his anger grow again and before he even realized what he was doing, he grabbed her by the collar, pulling her a bit too close to him.

- _Tell me. Tell me or..._

_- _Or what ? Are you going to breathe alcohol at me until I fall ? I would like to see that.

Her red lips curved into a smile, she ran her hands through his hair, pressing a bit against him. He knew what it implied. She was giving him a choice. Apparently, whatever her purpose was, he was fitted for it as well as Koschei. That was the best way to protect him. Steal his girlfriend... would he ever forget that one ? It did not even matter anymore.

Theta slipped a hand in her neck and drew her into a kiss, trying hard not to cry.

_But rumor has it she ain't got your love anymore._

Hello beautiful strangers, this is the nutter behind the screen talking. :3

First of all, thank you for reading, that's nice. And well, reviews are always appreciated, so please, take a few seconds to comment, it means a lot !

Also... these two first are not my best. And they're very short. And next one is even shorter. BUT ! After that, it gets better and longer and all. Promised.

The lyrics that I used are from Adele's Rumour has it, in case you hadn't recognized it.


	3. Chapter 3 - Ushas' Victory

It had been a few months.

Obviously, he did not talk to Koschei. How could he ? He stole his girlfriend. It didn't take a lot of sensitivity to see how sad he was. Theta wondered if he used to look at Ushas and Kos the same way Kos was looking at him now – with grief and pain and anger. He couldn't stand Koschei's stare. He tried to avoid it as much as he could but Ushas forced him to go back to class, to work, to stop drinking. She needed a good-looking, popular boyfriend, she wanted him to become important. Once or twice, she slipped in the conversation that he could become President if he wanted, that he was clever enough. It scared him. He didn't want to be President, he didn't want to be anything if it meant he had to lose his freedom. Every single day made him wanting even more to run away.

They fought all the time but in the end, she always won. She had the ways of a snake and could always get where she wanted. He knew she manipulated him and he let her do it, because it was still better than having her using Koschei for her purpose. At least, Koschei was safe. Sad and hurt and betrayed, but safe.

Belonging to Ushas was not pleasant, far from it. As days went by, he gave up more and more of his independance, his will, and even found himself starting to relinquish his idea of going away. After all, what was it out there that could be better ? There was no better life. No forgetting. It did not exist. And he belonged to Ushas. He couldn't possibly leave. He was her possession, she wouldn't let him go, she _needed_ him. Part of him grew convinced that she loved him and would die if he left. Another part... started to love her. A crooked, unhealthy kind of love.

It was his turn to be tarnished by her brightness, but he didn't mind. She had to shine, she was made of a material that others couldn't even think of touching, and she needed the spotlight. After all, he was flattered that she chose him. She was a star burning hot in the sky and he was the poor drunkard locked in his pityful life, chasing a friend that had forgotten him long ago, trying to get noticed with his stupid behaviour because he wasn't good enough to draw attention to him by being brilliant. He was the shame of the Academy – or he used to be, until she arrived.

For whatever reason, he started to find work relieving, then to hate it more than anything in the world when Koschei came to sit a few tables away from him when he was working in the library. Whether his old friend did it on purpose or not, Theta didn't know, but it was too painful to live with. He betrayed Koschei. He hurt Koschei. He could never forgive himself for that.

And maybe that was the wake-up call he needed.

One night, he got away from Ushas' room while she was asleep to simply... run. He needed to be alone. He needed to escape her grip, to feel some fresh air on his face. There was a party on the Moon of Korpal. Exactly what he needed.

He knew no one there but that was perfect, he did not want to meet anyone who could recognize his face. Dancing and drinking and simply not caring... For a few hours, this seemed enough. But then he started to think. He saw how low he went, how much power Ushas held over him, and he understood that he didn't love her – and never had. This was an illusion, an illusion that she created and nurtured because somehow, she needed him. He had not seen why yet, but that didn't matter. He had to get away. But he couldn't leave Koschei here.

He was drunk as hell when he made his decision and ran to Kos' room, not caring the slightest bit about his stumbling around the corridors. He tried to be discrete, though, as it would not serve his purpose to be caught and put into detention for being up at such an hour of the night.

Koschei opened the door, of course, looking mildly annoyed by the fact he was woken up in the middle of the night, and Theta threw himself in and locked the door behind him. At this rate, Kos seemed a little uncomfortable.

- We should go ! Pack your bags now. I have a whole plan. I've been thinking it through for ages. We'll go to the repair workshop, everyone must be asleep now, and we'll break in, and we'll take a TT Capsule. It'll be faulty, of course, but we're clever enough, we can repair it ! And then the stars, Kos, the stars for ourselves, and we'll never look back, and we'll be free, and we'll never have to suffer again ! What do you say ?

Theta did not know what hurt him the most then – that Koschei looked at him as if he had gone crazy, as if he was talking nonsense gibberish only dictated by alcohol... or that Ushas was behind him, looking at them with a dreadful smirk.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Element of Surprise

Obviously, that night did not end well.

But things could have been worse, Theta thought while looking at the little group that had gathered in the library, discussing matters of quantum physics and general relativity with quite some passion. Ushas had not won. He had found a way to make her plans go to waste. She wanted to have both Koschei and him, to use them as lab rats, probably, for some kind of dreadful experiment she was working on – and what she expected to do that night was breaking them both enough to have power over them. It could have worked, if Theta had not shown a very surprising drunk cleverness that resulted in the formation of this group. The Deca, they called themselves.

The offer he made was simple, yet very crooked and manipulative. Ushas wanted her men to be bright, beautiful and popular, and he offered her a way to make sure she would be around that kind of people a lot, while he could keep an eye on her. A study group was the excuse but quite frankly, he did not study any more than he used to. As Koschei was busy explaining the difficult concepts of space's curvature and multiple dimensions to his classmates, Theta kept on drawing on exercise sheets and sometimes humming a lullaby that his mother sang to him when he was young. Obviously, that pissed Koschei off more than a little. He would interrupt his explanations only to yell at Theta and order him to focus on the work, otherwise he would never be able to understand, to which Theta usually answered by singing louder.

As a matter of fact, he _did _understand these complicated concepts. Well, yes, TT capsules were bigger on the inside because Time Lords managed to curve another dimension of the universe inside it, thus allowing the user to shift to another spacetime when he entered the capsule. A spacetime that had more than just four dimensions, which made it look bigger. That was not _that _difficult to comprehend. Did Koschei mistake him for an imbecile ? Oh, well, he probably did. And Theta could not blame him, after he broke into his friend's room to talk to him about leaving with a stolen capsule.

He still thought about it, though. And he still wanted Koschei to come along. But the only time they talked to each other was when Koschei was yelling to get Theta's attention, which could not be considered a proper discussion. At this point, neither of them knew who was avoiding the other, but they still did their best to be apart and never talk. The Deca had quite a few theories about it, especially Mortimus, who insisted on this whole business being a bad breakup. That usually made Ushas cringe and she would leave the room in a storm of unexplainable anger.

Theta knew none of this. If he did, he would probably have done exactly the same as Ushas, though not for the same reasons.

Life went on. Not easy every day, far from it, but still pleasant enough to cling to.

Ushas had invested an abandoned warehouse to build herself a laboratory. Theta found out about it a few weeks before he decided to do something about it, when she was getting cockier and cockier about her experiments and trying to involve the Deca in them. True, he did throw these bright young students at her so that she would let go of Koschei and him, but he had grown to consider them as friends and could not bear the idea of them being used by her anymore. He had no plan, as would be his trademark for the rest of his existence, though he still was convinced that this dreadful place had to go down.

It was late at night and he sneaked out of his dorm, trying not to wake up his dormmate, armed with a torch and a lighter. Setting fire to the thing was something he would only do if it was his last option but still, he thought of it. That he could die in the process... well, it would be a painful side-effect, but at this rate, it was still better than doing nothing.

As he walked to the lab in the cold of the night, he figured he could have just reported it to Borusa and let him punish Ushas, but something told him his teacher would not have listened. Theta's reputation played against him in this game and he was far too conscious of it to risk the element of surprise he had that night. Borusa would certainly have summoned Ushas in his office and she would have convinced him it was the greatest idea in the universe, which would have led to trouble for Theta and not the helpful kind of trouble.

He was surprised to find the door open and to hear animals squeal inside and suddenly feared she might be in there, waiting for him. _Element of surprise, _yeah... So much for that. Of course she would have guessed his intentions, she always did.

However, another surprise waited for him inside, for it was not Ushas that was in the laboratory that night, but Koschei. Koschei who was freeing the animals that she kept in cages to run experiments on them. Koschei who was knowingly destroying her material. Koschei who looked at him as if he had grown a third arm or drooled on himself.

They stared at each other for a few minutes before Koschei sighed, returning to his work of freeing animals. Theta never actually imagined he would do something like that, even if he did not like Ushas' business.

- Instead of looking at me like a fish out of water would look at a fisher, would you care to help me ? Said his friend, struggling with a lock.

- Sure... but... what are you doing here ?

- Playing poker, what does it look like, you moronic idiot ? Now get your ass here and open these locks. We need to free those creatures before we burn the thing down.

- Well, forgive me for finding it extremely strange that you would care about that.

Koschei stared at him again as he went to open the last cages, silent as a gravestone. He did not reply anything until they were done and a dozen of creatures ran away in the night, free from Ushas' madness. They stood side by side, looking at them flee, a little too close to be comfortable, without looking at each other. Kos still hadn't explained his unexpected gesture – but it did not really matter.

- Now the fire, he whispered while getting back to the lab.

- But it could spread to the whole city ! I mean... it could kill people. And animals. Why do you want to set fire to this thing ? We already freed the animals and broke everything.

- Fire will send a more meaningful message.

Koschei's voice was so cold and determined when he said these words that Theta simply couldn't find anything to reply. Instead, he stayed at the door, looking at his friend with worry, hoping they would both get out of it alive. This was all so mysterious. Why would he do something like that ? Koschei did his best to never get into trouble and he did not really care about lab rats and the like. All he wanted was to be the best, to rule the world, the rest did not matter. For the first time in a long while, Theta thought he might have misjudged his friend.

A spark near a Bunsen beak was all it took to start a fire and while he stayed still, staring at the flames, Koschei ran to him, grabbed his hands and forced him to run alongside him. They rushed out of Arcadia, far from the Academy and the deserted warehouse, running until they were both out of breath and had to let themselves fall on the ground.

After a few seconds of silence, they burst out laughing.

- That was... that was completely stupid, chuckled Theta. Why on sanity's sake would make _you_ out of all people do such a thing ? I mean, that's usually my kind of stupid plan, not yours.

- You've got to admit it was brilliant. And I have my reasons.

- Care to tell me what they are ?

Theta rolled on his stomach to look at Koschei, still lying on his back. He smirked at his friend, getting nothing in return but a blank face.

- None of your business.

- … Alright, Mister Grumpy. Still, I suppose I should thank you. It was great doing it with a friend.

- Great ? Did you enjoy that ?

Koschei looked so shocked – that was hilarious.

- Well, yeah. The idea of Ushas finding her lab destroyed is quite fun. Besides, you were the one who wanted it on fire.

- … That was a terrible idea.

- Glad you acknowledge it. Then why did you do it ?

- Because I'm tired of burning on the inside, muttered Koschei as a very enigmatic reply.

Theta did not insist. When his friend was like this, it was useless to try to get anything out of him. Instead, he rolled again to lie on his back, his hands behind his head, looking at the stars with a satisfied smirk. They had done it. The cries coming from the city indicated that Gallifrey's administration had already taken care of the fire and that its consequences would be dealt with, which was quite relieving.

- They're gonna look for the culprits, Theta said in a sudden realization. Question everyone. I suppose your roommate will say you were not in your room, just like mine...

- We will find a story.

- We can have each other's back on this one. Pretend we were together. You know, studying or something.

Koschei huffed silently and sat, without looking at his friend. Apparently, he did not like this cover story. That was intriguing, because the thing was absolutely flawless – Koschei was an honour student, surely no one would suspect him of this, whereas Theta would be the perfect culprit.

- What's wrong ? The latter asked, surprised by this reaction.

- Are you aware of the rumors ?

- What rumors ? I'm never aware of rumors.

- Thanks to Mortimus, the whole Academy thinks we're dating.

Oh. That was unexpected. Sitting by his side, Theta tilted his head, looking at him with a brow raised. He could not figure what was the link between these rumors and their cover story but surely, Koschei would...

Oh.

- You're ashamed of these rumors, heh ? He asked in a bitter voice.

Koschei did not reply. Well, there was nothing to say. Theta would just have wished his friend had the guts to look at him in the face.

He stood up, trying not to look as hurt as he truly was, and forced a smile on his own lips. It must have looked crooked and false but that was the best he could do.

- I see. Well, then, if it bothers you that _the whole Academy _might think we were together doing whatever unholy stuff their deranged minds could think of, I will find another story to cover my ass. In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you would forget my existence. I don't want to have to deal with... with someone that despises me that much.

This had sounded so childish and bitter, just like the plea of a rejected lover, but Theta would rather not have thought of that. He was simply hurt that his friend – his only true friend – would be ashamed of him. They were not dating, he should not have cared about what everyone was saying, but no, being in a relationship with Theta Sigma Lungbarrow was such a shame he was trying to erase the rumors. Fantastic.

Koschei seemed about to say something but Theta knew there was nothing he could hear without bursting into tears. He turned his back on his friend and walked back to the Academy, ready to face his punishment – because punishment there would be, he was certain of that, but nothing could be worse than this.


	5. Chapter 5 - The day we met

He should have known when his father's face turned red that it was not a good idea to keep arguing over how he did not want to become a politician like him. He should have known when his father's fists started clenching that shutting it was the best way to get out of this dreadful situation. But he was stubborn and wanted to be heard, for once in his life. He was a scared little boy and the day of his initiation was approaching, how else was he supposed to express his fear ? His father would never have tolerated any sign of weakness and apprehension of any kind _was _a weakness.

Cringing, he let his father yell at him in silence until it was just too much to bear. He simply slipped out of his father's grip to run to the woods, at the far end of the estate, running as if his life depended on it – and considering how angry his father was, it did.

He didn't notice at first how loud he was sobbing until he reached the tranquil serenity of the woods, the peaceful shelter they provided. The boy leaned against a tree and buried his face in his hands in a desperate attempt to stop crying. He wasn't supposed to cry, besides, if his father was looking for him, any sound could lead him to his current position. He even wanted to stop breathing, but that would not work. He had to focus, to calm down. Soon enough, he was able to resume his walking.

He had not the slightest idea where he was. He had never been to the woods before, his mother had told him too many times about the dangerous things that hid in there for him to try... At this thought, he felt about to cry again. He was just a six-years-old boy who ran away from his father's anger in the middle of the night and it was cold and dark, and no one would find him, they wouldn't even bother looking for him, because he was such a failure. He was about to start crying again and scream for help when the silence of the forest was disturbed by the sound of someone running.

He caught a glimpse of white as something passed by him, something white and small, something that was going incredibly fast. He remembered the dreadful words of his mother about the monsters in the dark, the creatures that were waiting for little children they could eat, but tossed the thought aside and started running too. Whatever this was, it was bright and pure, it didn't look dangerous. He would learn many years and centuries later that the look of things could be terribly decieving but he was still to young to comprehend such a concept.

He ran after the white little creature for what could have been an hour before the thing finally stopped and turned to face him. They were in a clearing bathed with moonlight, covered in snow, and the _creature _was a boy, just like him. Except this boy was almost naked, wearing only a pair of white trousers, and he didn't seem to have suffered from the run, when himself felt like he would die if he was asked to move any more. The creature was impressive. Quiet, its head tilted to the right, its eyes curiously staring at him. He didn't seem to suffer from the cold either.

- Why were you running ? He asked it, wondering if it was an elf, or maybe a Toclafane, these mythical creatures his mother told him about. He didn't expect the other to answer and almost jumped when it – or he, as it seemed – did.

- Because if I stop running, I die.

- You're not dying.

- Not yet.

The creature smiled and for a second or two, the boy thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

- Are you a Toclafane ?

- No. I'm a Lungbarrow, the other replied, looking a bit perplexed by his question.

- So you're like me ? You're a Gallifreyan ? But... but you're... but what are you doing here ?! These are my father's woods ! You're not allowed here !

For whatever reason, discovering that this « creature » was just a boy made him angry. Suddenly, the Lungbarrow kid in front of him seemed to shine a little less, his skin turned into a more real color, his smile lost a bit of its charm. He was not a fairy from whatever ancient tale, he was just a boy. He had heard about the Lungbarrows, they were quite a big family of the Prydonian Chapter and had a lot of influence. The oldest kid, Braxiatel, was destined to be a diplomat or something – meaning he had a chance to leave Gallifrey one day. The youngest had not entered the Academy yet. He was said to be a bit of a lunatic, very weird, and he always heard his parents talk about this child in a very unpleasant manner.

He was about to leave the boy and tell his father that someone had been invading their land when the youngest of the Lungbarrows did a thing that blew him away. He laughed.

- You're an Oakdown, aren't you ? If it's your dad's estate... I know I'm not allowed here. My mom doesn't know either. But I like these woods. They're peaceful. Is your dad as peaceful ?

- My dad is a monster, the boy pouted. He shouted at me because I'm a failure.

The look of genuine surprise on Lungbarrow's face had something comforting and he forgot his silly idea to go and tell his father – besides, even that would get him into more trouble, he had no doubt of it. The only thing he could do to repair the numerous mistakes he had made that night was to crawl at his father's feet and beg for forgiveness, but even that would probably not be enough. He glanced around him, worried that the forest might attack him if he stayed too long, but everything seemed so quiet... The other boy was right. The woods were peaceful. And talking with another child his age was a moment stolen from time, a moment he didn't want to end.

- You're not a failure, Lungbarrow said, beaming with joy. Look, you managed to catch me ! And I run very fast.

This smile was intoxicating and contagious and soon, the boy found himself smiling like an idiot.

- I do, he replied, all proud with himself and hands on his hips. And I'm getting my initiation soon. I'm going to look into the Intempered Schism and become a Time Lord. My father says I could even become president.

- I doubt it, Lungbarrow chuckled. Only bad guys become president. That's what my mother says.

He decided not to reply to this one, because it felt a little too true to accept. He was still too young for that. Instead, he carefully approached the other and reached for the wonderful mane he was wearing on his head. His hair was so fair that in this moonlit darkness, it seemed almost white, just as his skin. His eyes, however, were of a deep blue – deeper than the sky at night. Lungbarrow obliged him and bowed his head a little to let him touch his hair, then chuckled and started running again inside the woods, inviting him to follow. It was hard to run that much but he didn't want to lose track of his new friend, who was probably the only one who could get him out of the forest after he got so tangled up in this maze.

- There are a lot of legends about you, he breathed. They say you haven't been loomed, you have a human mother. Or that you have been loomed and you're the reincarnation of the Other.

- I know !

He didn't get any proper answer, just these words and a laughter that could probably make snow melt. Lungbarrow's hand reached for his and they ran, they ran into the woods for what seemed like hours, they ran in a way he had never known before. It was not running to avoid being hit in the face by an angry old man, it was running to discover new wonders waiting for them behind every tree, under every patch of snow. Lungbarrow had his own way to make all of this wonderful – a tree was not just a tree, it was the house of little elves that were offering them cookies and milk but were too small to be heard or seen, the snow was frozen tears of joy shed by a happy sky, and the scent of the forest was a perfume it wore to seduce the sun when it would come back. For a moment or two, everything was forgotten, there was just the forest, the forest and this weird little boy who looked at the stars in awe.

For the very first time in his life, the boy who would become the Master discovered beauty. And it was heartbreaking.


	6. Chapter 6 - Hands

That had been a hard night and Koschei knew a thing or two about hard nights. He usually dreamt of violence and wars, of the neverending drums in his head taking the shape of warriors walking to their death, and he had grown used to it after the first ten years of it. It had started when he looked in the Intempered Schism. He knew in his hearts it would never stop. But that night was different – it was a peaceful dream, a dream of past happiness, and that was worse than anything. Dreaming of the time they were friends and everything was bright and simple was not to his liking, he would rather have a thousand nightmares about his homeland destroyed than dream of that. For some reason, Theta's smile was more painful than seeing his family estate torn to pieces.

He got up, groaning as his body cracked to remind him of the nasty position he slept in. Obviously, his knuckles did not appreciate spending the night crooked in angles that were almost impossible. The warm water of the shower made it a little better it could not do anything for the drums. One two three four one two three four one two three four. He found himself tapping that cursed rhythm on the wall, his head bent under the flow, his eyes closed in an attempt to focus on something else than this dream and the drums. During his sleep, for once, he didn't hear the echo in his mind, and that too was painful. His subconscious still associated Theta with so much peace and happiness that it even made the drums quiet. He had to get rid of that.

Theta did everything he could to avoid him. And when he thought they could finally go back to be friends, he found just any excuse he could to slip away again, he never even tried to understand. He jumped to that stupid conclusion – that Koschei was ashamed of the rumors. He almost wished it was true. Theta's speech on how they should never talk again would not have been that painful.

However, the dream made him remember why his friend had avoided him in the first place. Not so long after they met, a boy named Torvic had started bothering them, running after them in the woods, and Koschei could not tell his father about him if he didn't want to lose Theta. Torvic was a bully, a bully of the worst kind. A little older than them, he would stop at nothing to get them to cry, and he succeeded most of the time. They had protected each other since the first day of his attacks but one day, one day it was too much. He remembered Theta grabbing a stone and hitting Torvic's head with it, an expression of pure rage and hatred on his face. Suddenly, his ever so cheerful friend turned into a beast, driven mad by anger. That was the event that drew Theta from him. And while he understood that his friend had been ashamed of it and unable to cope with his reaction, he couldn't figure out why he was being so defensive even after so many years.

Koschei wanted his friend back. After all the drama, all the shouting and the avoiding each other, after Ushas messing with their lives, he just wanted Theta. He wanted to be able to run in the forest with his friend again, to climb trees and being laughed at because he was not so good at it, to have snowball fights, all these little silly things that he had enjoyed so much. They were a break from his father's expectations. Theta never expected anything from him, he just took him as he was and kept on smiling. This beautiful smile that made the stars look pale in comparison had faded lately and Koschei was not sure he could handle that.

Thinking of Theta's smile was a bad idea. It brought back too many memories, too many unwanted feelings. Soon, they would reach their final examinations to reach the rank of Junior Time Lords, they would be given the symbiotic nucleus that would allow them to regenerate and travel through time and space, it would be the final race before the end. Soon, he would meet his father's expectations and if everything went well, he would have to leave to become part of the council. The simple thought of it made him nauseous. Sitting on a chair all day long, chatting about useless things... that was not what he wanted but then again, he had very little to say in that matter. His father would decide for him. As always.

His thoughts drifted to Theta again. To this smile that started burning in his flesh long ago. To these blue eyes that shone with promises of new worlds and wonders. Noticing his right hand had ventured a little too far on his own stomach, he kicked himself back to reality, turned off the water and got out of the shower. What he had been about to do was disgusting, it belonged to lower species that had not found any way to dim their physical instincts, certainly not to a future Time Lord. In their society, touching hands was already considered a very intimate thing to do, and without reproductive instincts, anything sexual seemed completely useless. Still, he could not chase the unpleasant sting that kept on burning through his loins.

Angry at himself, he put on clothes and stormed out of his room, barely thinking of closing the door. This was simply insufferable. His thoughts were not coherent enough for him to understand why he was knocking on Theta's door, why his whole body seemed to suddenly be on fire, why he felt that urge to punch something, preferably something that would scream. He used to be quiet and to never raise his voice but a little fairy-boy in the forest managed to awake some dreadful thoughts in him. That was bad, that was terribly bad, but when Theta's voice rose to invite him in, it felt like someone poured some fresh water over his burning wounds.

He was sitting on his bed, facing his window and looking at the sun rising. The sky was going from a burnt orange to a lighter yellow that would later appear almost green if no clouds were to show, the city below was barely awaking – it was still very early, as Koschei noticed when he finally took the time to look at a clock, but Theta did not seem to mind. His wild blond curls were a complete mess, dancing around his head as if they had their own will, his blue eyes did not even bother to look at him, and he was almost naked. Just like this day in the wood, he was only wearing his trousers, and nothing else. He said once that he did not like clothes, that he felt restrained when he was dressed, especially when he wore shoes. The rest, he could handle, but he hated shoes to a dreadful extent.

His gaze still didn't shift when Koschei sat by his side, silent, and he kept on staring at the sky with the most serious face he had ever worn.

- Thete...

- Shush. Listen. The sun is singing.

That was not the first time Theta pretended he could hear the music of the stars. His eyes closed and he tilted his head as if he was listening to something and suddenly, his features softened, a smile blossomed on his lips.

- I guess you wanted to talk to me, he whispered without opening his eyes. Or just stare at me awkwardly for hours, but I doubt it. I'm listening.

- I thought you wanted me to forget your existence.

- You obviously didn't. So, speak.

- I wanted to talk to you about what happened after we burnt Ushas' lab.

Theta's eyes opened and his smile disappeared, but he still didn't look at Koschei. This reaction was painful but understandable. Koschei had heard he got in trouble for the fire, that he was about to be expelled and that Braxiatel had to move mountains to make sure he could still take his exams. He had one last chance. And knowing Theta, he was going to screw it if no one helped him.

- Thete... you've been avoiding me for ages. I know it's because of Torvic. And then you came back and I was glad because you're my friend and I... I care about you. And then you flew away again. You didn't even let me explain. Why ?

- Because I was not eager to hear you say how much you despised me, he replied in a bitter voice. If anyone's opinion matters to me, it's yours.

He said that so simply, as if it was obvious, but Koschei felt his stomach sink to his feet at maximum speed. Did he realize how much these words meant ?

- I don't despise you.

- Then you're an imbecile. I'm a mess. I'm the kid who cannot even reply to a single question in a test because he simply doesn't care. I'm the kid who hands back doodles instead of proper examination sheets. I'm the kid who does everything that's forbidden and disgusting just for the sake of experiment. And you... well, you're the perfect little Time Lord to be.

Koschei tried to forget his first thought was that Theta had already passed this point of no return, had touched another body, had had... sex. The idea made him blush a little too much to his own taste. That was repulsive.

- I'm not that perfect. And I don't think you're as messed up as you pretend to be. I mean, you're clever. You could ace these classes in a blink if you just tried.

- Why would I ? I don't care about becoming a Time Lord. I'd be perfectly happy if I could be just the boy next door. But I can't. And, you know, I still plan to leave. There is nothing for me here. No one that would regret me.

- I would.

The big blue eyes finally turned to him and Theta's features expressed more surprise than he would have expected. His friend really _did _believe he despised him.

Following a stupid impulse, he held his hand up, inviting Theta to take it. They were contact telepaths, they could communicate thoughts and feelings to each other when they touched, and offering another future Time Lord any kind of physical contact was something intimate and personal that was not supposed to happen with just anyone. In all his life, Koschei had never touched anyone aside from Ushas, which was a disgusting experience. His parents were not the cuddly type, even according to Gallifreyan standards, and they did their best to avoid touching him. He remembered catching Theta's hand in the forest, back when they still were running in this dark sanctuary, but that was different. Neither of them was really good at mind games back then.

Things had changed. Koschei became a hypnotist and a good one, able to put someone under his control with a snap of his finger, and suddenly he remembered that Theta would always come by and erase his suggestions afterwards, even when they were avoiding each other.

He thought for a moment that his friend would turn him down and refuse to touch him but after a few moments of hesitation, Theta smiled and entwined his fingers with his.


End file.
